I defence/support of any chip guide. The prices are created with the best information that the author has. This can change any day, so it's still up to any buyer to keep their eyes open.

Writing to the authors, is an advisory, since they still need more than one source, to make a decision. "hey I know someones uncle has a garage full of rare Z-3 Pete's Palace casino chips"

Fine, but a friend of a friend, doesn't confirm anything. Rumors of sales have been known to be the same item, moving from one person to another. Three known to exist, may be one, which has seen three owners.

Meanwhile, even bank notes, have had sudden changes in values, when someone finds a cache in the back of an old bank vault, or a safety deposit box with 100 of something which was once, one of a kind.

Look at the original Chip Rack and the current edition (about four times larger on a rough guess) many of us chippers are still finding previously unknown chips. There's no reason to think that some honestly rare chip, may be sitting in someones garage collecting dust.

Since I collect mostly two smaller areas, it's not unusual to find some "rare" chip which is up for auction week after week on eBay. The first few sell for high prices, then they go lower and now I see no bidders. My guess? Someone has a box of these. If the chip guides adjust down to reflect the true rarity, does the owner just sock them away, start selling for less. (there is a reserve)

How do the original buyers feel about the price drop. The price guide was right...